The community teams continued their strong showing at the NBA 2K League’s 3v3 Slam Open playoffs on Wednesday, as the 32-team field was reduced by eight.
The amateur clubs went a collective 2-2 on the day and five of the seven that qualified for the bracket are still playing.
The playoffs open as a best-of-five, double-elimination format, with the opening rounds played remotely through Friday. The final 12 teams will then face off in-person from March 29-April 1 in Washington. Those matches will be best-of-five but single elimination.
All 25 professional teams advanced to the playoffs, with group play records determining seeding. The top seven teams from the community competition filled out the final seven seeds.
Eight of Wednesday’s 10 matches were elimination matches, with the winners advancing to play opponents yet to be determined. Each will face the loser of a second-round match in the winners bracket.
The day began with the final two first-round winners-bracket matches. No. 19 Pacers Gaming beat 14th-seeded Gen.G Tigers 3-1 and 11th-seeded T-Wolves Gaming topped No. 22 Blazer5 Gaming by the same score, completing the first round of the winners bracket.
The 32nd-seeded XSET, the last team to qualify for the playoffs, managed to take No. 17 Celtics Gaming to a winner-take-all fifth game on Wednesday, but got shut out 21-0 in that final game. The loss eliminated them from the losers bracket.
Ankle Breakers, seeded 28th, was the other community club eliminated. They were swept away by 21st-seeded Hornets Venom GT, exiting the playoffs with no wins and six losses across two matches.
As for the community winners, No. 30 seed Dot Squad handed Gen.G its second loss of the day with a 3-1 elimination-match win, and 26th-seeded Glo Navy Glosquitos took care of No. 23 Mavs Gaming 3-2, winning the deciding game 24-21.
Wednesday’s other winners were No. 24 Magic Gaming, fourth-seeded Warriors Gaming Squad, No. 15 Lakers Gaming and sixth-seeded NBL Oz Gaming.
The Lakers beat second-seeded DUX Infinitos, who were run out of their playoffs in their inaugural NBA 2K season with back-to-back losses. NBL Oz Gaming topped Blazer5, who like Gen.G, lost twice on the day.
NBA 2K League 3v3 Slam Open
First-round results (Wednesday)
No. 19 Pacers Gaming 3, No. 14 Gen.G Tigers 1
No. 11 T-Wolves Gaming 3, No. 22 Blazer5 Gaming 1
First-round losers-bracket results (Wednesday)
No. 17 Celtics Crossover Gaming 3, No. 32 XSET 2
No. 24 Magic Gaming 3, No. 25 Kings Guard Gaming 1
No. 4 Warriors Gaming Squad 3, No. 20 Heat Check Gaming 2
No. 21 Hornets Venom GT 3, No. 28 Ankle Breakers 0
No. 15 Lakers Gaming 3, No 2. DUX Infinitos 1
No. 26 Glo Navy Glosquitos 3, No. 23 Mavs Gaming 2
No. 30 Dot Squad 3, No. 14 Gen.G Tigers 1
No. 6 NBL OZ Gaming 3,No. 22 Blazer5 Gaming 1
Second-round winners-bracket matches (Thursday)
No. 1 Bucks Gaming vs. No. 16 Pistons GT
No. 8 Jazz Gaming vs. No. 9 76ers GC
No. 29 Handlez vs. No. 13 Hawks Talon GC
No. 5 Cavs Legion vs. No. 12 Grizz Gaming
No. 31 Glitchy vs. No. 18 Raptors Uprising GC
No. 7 Wizards District Gaming vs. No. 10 NetsGC
No. 3 Knicks Gaming vs. No. 19 Pacers Gaming
No. 27 Gamers First Longhorns vs. No. 11 T-Wolves Gaming
–Field Level Media